Filion won 55.5 per cent of the vote, well ahead of challenger David Mousavi, who had 31.2 per cent.

Filion is a long-time politician. He was first elected to municipal office as a member of the North York Board of Education in 1982, and served as a councillor in the former city of North York. He was elected to the City of Toronto’s council after amalgamation and has been there ever since.

Before entering politics, he was a journalist with the Toronto Star and North York Mirror.